6/24/2009 @ 7:56PM

Facebook Goes Public With New Sharing Options

Facebook introduced two features Wednesday that should better position the social networking site as a source of real-time information on the web.

One lets users make their updates accessible to anyone online if they wish, while the other enables outside sites to feature a relevant stream of updates from Facebook members.

The company said that any developer would now easily be able to install a Facebook Live Stream Box on their website. The box showcases a constantly refreshing stream of updates from Facebook users that can accompany a live streamed event.

It had already been used by a select group of websites, including CNN, as a way to run user-generated commentary adjacent to live video. Comments are shared simultaneously on both the third-party site and on the users Facebook page, in order to encourage contributions (and visits) from friends.

Separately, Facebook said that it is testing a feature that lets users select specifically who they want to share their updates with. You may have some posts you want to share with a wide audience, such as whom you voted for or how great the weather is today, Facebooks Olaoluwa Ola Okelola explained in a blog post.

Both moves reemphasize that Facebook wants its service to be just as widely used as a place to see real-time information online as Twitter.

Facebook had already introduced a number of Twitter-like features, including the prominent stream of updates on users home pages.

Last week, it also said it had started to test a Twitter-like search function that will let people sift through those updates.

For the revamped search engine to get outside traction, however, it will likely need more users to make their information public. The ability to specify that a specific post can be seen by anybody online should aid that.